Wandering

The Gleaming Part One - Discovery

2011-04-17T12:30:00.009+02:00

I'm incredibly pleased to announce the publication of my first novel. It's classic high fantasy and is the first of several planned volumes, the second of which will be out very soon.
I've chosen to forgo the normal publishing route of shopping it around to the big publishing houses, hoping to leap out of the slush pile and get a contract. What am I giving up by doing this? Well, obviously the marketing power these businesses can bring to bear is pretty formidable. But you have to be an author producing material that they think is going to get on Oprah in order for them to put their weight behind you. I'm not that person. Most of the books they publish fade away into quiet obscurity.
One thing that really annoys me about publishing companies is the price of electronic books (for the Kindle, Ipad, Nook etc). Let's see, there are no printing costs, no shipping costs, no storage costs. Why should an ebook be priced anywhere near the same as a regular paper book? It's pure price gouging and it really sticks in my throat.
I decided to do it myself. That way I get more control, I'm more involved, I retain all the rights, and if it should, by some miracle, be successful, I'll end up making more money than I would if I had a contract with a publisher. I think that with the rise of electronic books, the publishing companies are in the same position as the record companies were a few years ago - they're like a dinosaur that is already dead but just hasn't realized it yet.
But I am asking for your help. Please share this post on Facebook or Twitter or any other social media you frequent. Please, PLEASE, write a review on Amazon - it need only be a sentence or two.
You can buy the paperback from lulu.com or the ebook from amazon.
Thanks for reading this and I hope you enjoy the book!

My food

2011-04-12T13:25:00.000+02:00

I've got quite into ccoking lately, although I make no claims as the the quality of the results. Check it out on Crap Chef.

Farmer Con

2011-04-08T11:06:00.002+02:00

Farming large scale at home! That's my field. 1st row is lemon grass, next two are chiles, then two rows of peas, two rows of cucumbers and one row of strawberries.

The cucumbers are coming up pretty fast. This is after 10 days. Soon they'll be ready for bigger pots.

One tiny little lemon grass. Nothing yet from the chiles or the strawberries.

Birds in La Pampa

2010-11-29T00:28:00.001+01:00

I've seen quite a few interesting birds in La Pampa. Maybe I'm becoming a twitcher! I wanted to include pictures, but I can't get close enough to the birds for a decent picture, and I don't want to steal someone elses. Wikipedia links will have to do, the article has pics.

Spotted Tinamou

There's a pair of these that I see in one of the fields next to the house. They are very timid. Not very exciting, but it's a very ancient kind of bird, which is cool.

Chilean Flamingo
These are some-time visitors to the laguna. I haven't seen them from up close yet, but you see them a lot when driving, in any water that's sufficiently far from the road that they aren't spooked.

Southern Screamer
What a great name for a bird. In spanish it's called a chaja. It looks sort of like a turkey, that sort of size. Saw a couple of these on the way back from Buenos Aires, so technically, it may have been in Provincia Buenos Aires. So sue me.

Crested Caracara
There's a few of these around the farm. It looks like a bigger brother of the chimango.

Caracara
This is called a chimango in spanish. There's a million of them around the house in the evenings. They make a lot of noise, but less noise than the plague of parrots that used to be here, and that they've scared away.

Glittering-bellied Emerald Hummingbird
You can hear these before you see them. They make a huge humming noise. Appropriate, I suppose.

Magellanic Woodpecker
OK, I saw this in San Martin de Los Andes, which is most definitely not in La Pampa, but I'm putting it in because it's very cool. We saw two pairs when we were walking on Chapelco last summer.

Fork-tailed Flycatcher
Look at the picture of this one, it's amazing. They're all over the the edges of the fields.

Vermillion Flycatcher
This is another looker. I see them sometimes on the driveway to the house from the road, but they seem very timid. Just a flash of red.

White Monjita
Monjita means "little nun". They're very pretty.

Southern Lapwing
Quite common in the fields. They're pretty aggressive and will call out at you if you go near their nests. They should be pretty, but somehow they don't do it for me.

On the back from San Martin, in the desert, I also saw rheas once, but I'm not sure if they were greater or lesser rheas. There are also andean condors on the way out Junin de Los Andes, but despite straining my neck and trying to wish that two black vultures were condors, I haven't seen them.
There's another bird that I've seen a couple of times later near the well and windmill, it looks somewhat like a heron but I haven't been able to nail it down yet. Very curious.
Plus a huge assortment of pigeons and doves, finches and sparrows, etc.

Dinner at Andrew and Ceci's.

2010-11-28T15:46:00.001+01:00

They cooked for 5 hours. Crispy skin. Juicy meat. Fantastic.

There are tons of these guys around. It's about as big as my fists linked together.

End Of November in La Pampa

2010-11-25T20:03:00.001+01:00

Me and a little baby armadillo. It's eyes haven't opened yet.

Ceci rescued it from one of her dogs. Normally people around here aim for them when they are driving, so she must have been in a soft-hearted mood that day. It's shell isn't hard yet. It eats milk from a syringe.

Down by the laguna.

Sunset.

Last weekend in Buenos Aires

2010-11-22T22:17:00.000+01:00

Veronica with a large reptile.

Me cooking meat.

Where's the beef?

Bougainvillea.

Four wise monkeys.

With flowers in her hair...

No Problem.

2010-11-14T01:08:00.002+01:00

Two wars? No problem.
Reading your private emails and listening to your phone calls? No problem.
Destroy the economy so their cronies can make more money? No problem.
Deny you affordable health care? No problem.
Real wages stagnant for 30 years? No problem.
Higher percentage of the population in prison than in any developed country? No problem.
1/3 the paid vacation days of Europeans? No problem.
$100,000 debt on college graduation? No problem.
Owe more on your house than it's worth? No problem.
Take your toothpaste and nail clippers before you get on a plane? No problem.
Naked scans of your fat ass in the airport? OH MY GOD THE SKY IS FALLING!!!!!!!

October 2010 Stuff

2010-10-22T15:43:00.000+02:00

In October, we went to the farm for the wedding of Kieran and Toia. The carriage above is an old one that was in one of the garages. It's getting cleaned up.

Above is Vero, and above that, it's me and her at the beginning of the wedding.

Us at the dinner table inside the tent.

Drinking mate.

A white acacia in the garden at Vero's parent's house. It smells really good.

There's lots of wild asparagus around the farm. We ate tons and tons. There's a handful of mine, and Vero and Ceci in the background.

Driving back to San Martin. 11 hours. A lot of it across the desert. This is the volcano Lanin, which is one of the first mountains you can see on the way to the Andes.

Beer and peanuts after a long day!

Me and the missus.

World Cup and Snow

2010-06-22T16:48:00.001+02:00

Diego, Nico, La Flaca and Valentin watch Argentina.

Vero risking life and limb at Chapelco. This is the ski resort about 15 minutes from town.

Mountains and clouds.

Peak and chair lift.

This Weekend

2010-05-30T00:01:00.000+02:00

Me with my winter beard.

At Belinda's birthday party, with her daughter and friend.

Carrie boozing it up and Toia boogying down.

Watching the rugby on a COLD saturday afternoon.

A little walk near Huilco.

2010-05-28T19:04:00.000+02:00

More San Martin

2010-05-27T00:02:00.001+02:00

Vero giving me a smile.

Snow on the peaks!

San Martin de Los Andes

2010-05-26T23:59:00.002+02:00

The view from the window this morning when we woke up!

Another view. We're staying for now at Huilco, the Randall's place. It's REALLY nice!

Downtown San Martin!
Metropolis!

The bridge to Carrie and Diego's places.

McDonalds

2010-01-25T18:10:00.001+01:00

I hadn't eaten at McDonalds for probably 15 years. For the last few months I've been curious about it. Was it as bad as I thought? Could you get a decent meal there? I've been meaning to go and check it out for a while. This weekend, we were going to visit Juanito in Chascomus, and we had some time to kill before the bus left, so we decided to risk everything and eat some burgers! I ordered a Big Mac and fries, and a sprite. Vero ordered a McNifica and fries and a sprite. They gave us a sprite and a coke, so -1 point for accuracy.

The food came out quickly, less than a minute! I suppose it's fast food, that's the point. We found a table. The burger doesn't look like it does in the pictures, but it didn't look bad. A bun, a couple of patties, some weak looking lettuce, pickles and a pinkish-orange sauce. There might have been some chopped onions in there as well.

Taste. The bread was a bit, hmmmm, not doughy, just sort of airy and light. Like Wonder Bread or Bimbo white bread, something like that. I couldn't taste the meat at all, just the sauce, which I think was a mixture of ketchup and mayonnaise. And the pickles. The pickles were pretty good, crunchy and sweet. The whole thing went down really quickly, then I ate the fries. Everyone raves about McDonalds' fries, but I thought they were a little powdery and didn't really taste like potatoes at all. I had some with ketchup and some with mustard. The mustard was truly atrocious - way too vinegary and with almost no mustard taste at all.

I finished everything in about 5 minutes flat. I didn't feel bad afterwards, or full. It was like what I had just put in my mouth wasn't even food. Amazing for something that comes in at over 1000 calories!Verdict: It wasn't horrible, but I won't mind if I wait another 15 years before I go back. 21 pesos (about US$5) for the meal that I had. I'd rather get some chinese or a sandwich.

Cars

2010-01-25T16:16:00.000+01:00

I might buy a Citroen, just so I can drive like this.

How the bat came to fly.

2010-01-25T15:43:00.002+01:00

A long time ago, all the birds were hanging out with all the animals. The birds were making fun of the animals because they couldn't fly.
The lion said "I'm not going to fly. I live on the savannah and I'm too proud to be in the air. Why should I fly?"
The tiger said "I'm not going to fly. I'm too beautiful! Why should I fly?"
The kangaroo said "I'm not going to fly. I can jump really high, why should I fly?"
The llama said "I'm not going to fly. I can run really fast! Why should I fly?"
Then the bat, who back then was a little animal like a mouse who ran around on the ground eating insects said "You guys suck! I'm not gonna let the birds make fun of us any more. I'm gonna fly!"
So he grew wings and started to fly.
He said to the birds "You guys are assholes. I'm gonna fly at night so I don't have to talk to any of you!" And so the bat started flying at night, and he flew all over the world.
And that's why the lion lives just in Africa, the tiger lives just in Asia, the Kangaroo lives just in Australia and the llama lives just in South America, but the bat lives everywhere.
And that's how the bat came to fly.

USA Trip

2009-08-10T20:35:00.001+02:00

All the kids

Brian, Me, Dave, Kim, Pete and Shannon

Me and more kids

Uruguay Visa Run

2009-06-24T01:17:00.006+02:00

I went to Uruguay today with Veronica so I could renew my visa. Colonia is a nice little town and it's a relaxing day out of the city.

They have a meal here, it's called a parrillada. This is what it looks like! It's all done on the grill and is kidneys, liver, sweetbreads, intestines, blood sausage, chorizo sausage, two kinds of cow meat and sometimes chicken and pork as well. Really yummy. I can't eat one very often, but sometimes I get a craving, and I had one today!

This is Veronica in front of this giant pile of meat!

Veronica's plate when she was done. She eats more of the meat, I eat more of the organs. Jack Sprat!

What was left when we were finished. That's some sausage, some meat, some sweetbreads and some kidneys. The intestines are my favorites, I always eat all of them! We got the waiter to put it in a doggy bag for us to take home. A dog followed us all the way to the port. He was barking at everyone else and chasing cars, but he loved us. We got inside before we realized we couldn't take it through customs, so we had to throw it away. I would have given it to the dog if I'd known!

Sugar

2009-06-03T22:05:00.000+02:00

We just got shut down for having reusable ketchup bottles and not those little individual packs. Probably for a week. We're BY FAR the most popular bar - honestly, not exaggerating - in the whole of the city of 16 million people, the economy is going to crap, all the other places are closing, we keep adding more staff, we pay more taxes than anyone else and we pay them on time, we buy more beer than anywhere else in the city including the HUGE clubs, and more booze as well, we never have problems with the cops or violence or underage drinkers or drugs like the other places do, so who do they target? The foreigners. So pissed off.

Barbecue time!

2009-04-22T17:10:00.001+02:00

NOT FOR THE SQUEAMISH, VEGGIES OR VEGANS!!!!!!

Translations

2009-03-13T18:56:00.001+01:00

Sometimes things just don't translate the way people think. Take these cereal bars. Another thing that they do here a lot is to borrow an english compound word, and then leave off the part that holds the meaning for us. For example, a mall is "un shopping", from "shopping mall". A golf course or club is "un golf". A gated community is "un country", I presume from "country club". There's some great other signs around here that got the english wrong, or store names that have unintended connotations. I'll try and post some soon.
Band names can be confusing as well. "Los Rollings" is easy to figure out (The Rolling Stones). Someone requesting "Bay-at-lays" is harder, until you realize that's how you would pronounce "Beatles" phonetically in spanish. Some of the new bands, I'm still trying to figure out what the hell people were asking for.

More Chascomus

2009-03-08T21:45:00.001+01:00

Vero

Lunch at the lake

Night in Chascomus

2009-03-08T21:43:00.001+01:00

Me, Juanito, Flor, Diego

Me, Vero, Flor, Diego

Mrs. Lance Armstrong

Me and Diego

And the last of San Martin

2009-02-18T21:23:00.001+01:00

Nice water

Bit of shade

Before getting on the bus home - look how happy I am!

Even more San Martin

2009-02-18T21:17:00.001+01:00

Nice view

Carrie and Vero

Vero

Carrie and La Flaca's house

More San Martin

2009-02-18T21:13:00.001+01:00

The girls after a few

Vero looking hot

Nice sky

View from the road out of town

San Martin de los Andes

2009-02-18T21:08:00.001+01:00

We went on holidays for two weeks to the Andes...

One of the lakes...

Vero, La Flaca and Carrie cooking a yummy dinner

Me in the sun

Another lake

The Wedding

2009-01-12T18:43:00.006+01:00

We went to the wedding of a friend of Vero's. Some pics...

Aunt Heather, Me, Veronica, Carol, Jimmy, Carrie

Me, Vero, Carol, Jimmy, Carrie

Vero and Granny and me...

Me in a suit...a very rare occasion!

Some more Pics from La Pampa

2008-11-19T20:24:00.001+01:00

Me as Bjorn Borg

Me and Vero's Mum

Twilight

Diego in the back, Me, Vero and Carrie in the hammock.

La Pampa

2008-11-04T11:13:00.010+01:00

I finally got to get out of Buenos Aires and spend the weekend in La Pampa with Veronica's family, on their farm. First of all, the countryside is flat!

This is the front porch of the house. Perfect for enjoying the sun. The house is beautiful inside and out. When they first built this house, there were no trees. I like the idea of planting trees because you know that 25 years down the road, it will be much nicer.

The windmill that powers the pump that brings the water (there's an electric pump for the non-windy times).

Me getting some sun on my pasty white body.

Florencia (Diego's girlfriend), Veronica and her sister Carrie having lunch. Lots of meat!

We went to another part of the farm, called El Casco, where some of her cousins live, for an asado. That's a whole lamb (and my bit of cow next to it, since I can't eat lamb!) I think cousin Jessie killed the lamb the day before.

I relaxed.

On the way home from the asado, Diego stopped the truck, leapt out and caught an armadillo, since I wanted to see one. I wasn't as nervous as I look in this photo, they're harmless. A bit stinky. The armor is not as hard as it looks, it's got a little layer of flesh on the top. Vero's aunt said they have one frozen in the freezer, but we forgot to defrost it, so I didn't get to taste it.

Sunsets are gorgeous.

Con the Great White Hunter. Went to shoot some pigeons with Diego. I'd never shot a gun before. Didn't get any with the shotgun, but got three with the .22. The dog ate most of them!
I had an awesome time. So relaxing, so peaceful, and the family is great. Can't wait to go back. I REALLY didn't want to get on the bus back to Buenos Aires!

Another one from the asado

2008-10-02T15:19:00.001+02:00

At Richard's Asado

2008-10-02T15:18:00.000+02:00

On a Sunday afternoon, after a long night at the bar....

Me and Vero

2008-10-02T15:17:00.000+02:00

Sunday

2008-09-28T19:21:00.002+02:00

It's 2:20pm on Sunday. I've been at the bar since noon. I got up at eleven after going to bed at 7:30am. It's raining. I'm tired. I'm going to go to Vero's and sleep the sleep of the dead! Tomorrow, off to Uruguay for the day for a visa run.

Saturday Night

2008-09-28T00:38:00.003+02:00

Saturday night and it's almost time to go to work. The first really warm day of the season. We've got a couple of parties tonight, but nothing crazy. Tomorrow is sort of a half day off for me, and Monday we're off to Uruguay for a visa run.

The weather and my head

2008-09-11T18:50:00.004+02:00

Well, the warm weather is coming, and of course I get a nasty head cold with it. Always happens that way.
Still trying to get the bills paid, the systems are still down. Supposed to be back up this afternoon.
The coffee machine at the bar has a steam leak, they claim to be sending a technician to check it out. We'll see.
The guy that gives us our change (we bribe him with bottles of wine - he has a friend who works in a bank) is nowhere to be found and we are desperate for the weekend. Of course, the banks here have no change. I spent 6 hours one Friday lining up at 6 banks to get change and got a grand total of 60 pesos in change - I was aiming for about 1000 pesos!
This being Argentina, birthplace of efficiency, the guy who sells us new oil for our fryer is NOT the same guy that picks up the old oil. trying to coordinate the two is impossible, especially with the Argentine disdain for schedules, showing up on time, calling anyone back or anything remotely resembling good business sense. So now we have a 50 gallon drum of new oil (which we don't have room for) and no way to put it in the fryer since we can't get rid of the old oil.
One of our Colombian bartenders, Paula, is off traveling with her Mum for 6 weeks, and Andres, our Chilean bartender, has gone back to Chile for two weeks, so we're down two bartenders for the weekend.
But the sun is out!

Getting nothing done

2008-09-09T21:18:00.002+02:00

I spent all day getting nothing done. Went to pay cable bill at "PagoFacil" (EasyPay)...system down. Went to pay software bill at "RapiPago" (FastPay)...system down. Went to put money in bank. Can't do it at that branch, they send me to another branch. Can't do it there either. Have to do it at the branch we opened the account at, despite their assurances to the contrary when we opened the account. Back to Sugar for lunch. 1pm appointment with a vendor. She doesn't show up. Eat lunch. Call Quilmes to place a beer order. She says she will call me back in 5 minutes. Now it's three and a half hours later and I haven't heard anything. Back to PagoFacil. Down. Back to RapiPago. Down. Matt calls me at 4pm...vendor has shown up. We place an order for bread. Today is Tuesday. She says maybe we get it Saturday. I'm not taking any bets on that one.

Cheese

2008-09-04T23:35:00.001+02:00

Not only does Feta cheese not seem to exist here, people who work in supermarkets don't even know what it is. It really is a wasteland of food options here.

Salads at Sugar Bar

2008-09-04T15:28:00.001+02:00

Today I am going to attempt to teach two confirmed meat-eater cooks from Peru and Ecuador how to make some decent salads. Let's see what their version of a Thai-chicken salad comes out like.
And it's freezing here again. Lulled into a false sense of hope by two days of nice weather....damn!

Spring is coming!

2008-09-02T22:41:00.003+02:00

The weather has been really nice the last couple of days, and although it's supposed to rain soon, I think the nicer weather might be really close. Woohoo! This picture has nothing to with spring, it's just a picture of Vero.
Hi Nan, if you are reading this! I think you are the only person that reads it!

Bar Etiquette

2008-08-14T15:47:00.002+02:00

I realize that some younger folks don't have a lot of experience in bars, and some older folks need a refresher, so here are my rules of behavior for a bar. Follow these and you'll get faster service, better drinks and have a good time.

If I ask you what you want to drink, don't say "A beer!" There are too many possibilities. Draft? Large or small? Bottle? What brand?
If I ask you what you want to drink, don't say "I don't know, what should I drink?" Unless you are a very good customer, I have no idea what your preferences are. If you insist on me picking, I'll just give you the most expensive thing we have.
If the bar is busy and your turn with the bartender comes, know what you want, or I'll pass over you and go on to the next person.
If the bar is busy, order all your drinks at once. Don't order a rum and coke, and then when I bring it to you, order a gin and tonic. That takes twice as long. I can remember ten or twelve drinks at once, so don't worry, I won't mess up your order.
If the bar is busy, have your money ready! There's nothing worse than having to wait while someone rummages in their purse/wallet for money when they had plenty of time to find it while I was making the drink. It shouldn't be a surprise that you have to pay!
Don't ask "What's the strongest thing I can get for X amount of money?" If you're just looking to get drunk for cheap, you should drink at home.
Don't EVER ask for a drink "strong" or "heavy on the booze" or any variation thereof. That's a guarantee that I'll make it weak. Our drinks are REALLY strong anyway (1/2 booze, 1/2 mixer).
Don't complain that you're drink is weak if you've taken so long to drink it that all the ice has melted. That's your own fault and I'm not obligated to top it up with booze. Our drinks are always strong to start with.
There are no discounts for speaking english or being pretty or knowing someone I met once on the street or flirting with a bartender or any other reason. If you want a discount, come during Happy Hour, when drinks are ridiculously cheap.
The bartenders will remember you and you are more likely to get served faster if you tip.
If you order a drink that takes a little while to get made (daiquiri, mojito, caipirinha, margarita), hang out at the bar until it arrives. If there are three hundred people in the bar, I don't have time to go find you if you wander off.
Don't waltz in half an hour after Happy Hour is over and ask for Happy Hour prices. Happy Hour is 3 hours long, that gives you plenty of time to get to the bar!
It's fine to request a song from the DJ. But don't send all your friends up to request the same song. We know what you're doing and it doesn't make it more likely that the song will be played.
If you do request a song from the DJ, that doesn't mean that he's obligated to play it, or that he will play it next.
If you don't drink alcohol, order a soda or a water or something. You're taking up the space of a drinker and that's costing me money.
If you don't have any money, don't go out.
Don't ask if you can run a tab. You can't.
If we're giving away free shots, don't volunteer yourself to get one. Don't worry, we know who deserves or needs a shot.
Just because you've ordered a couple of drinks over the last couple of hours does not entitle you to a free round.
When the music goes off, the lights go on, the staff is cleaning up and we're shouting for you to get out, that means we're closing. Drink up and get out!

Argentina Time

2008-07-04T22:54:00.001+02:00

Today, it took me three trips to the locksmith and one and a half hours to get one key copied.

An older photo...

2008-06-09T23:12:00.000+02:00

Me and Vero with the keys to the bar!

Buenos Aires Update

2008-05-15T15:51:00.002+02:00

Well, ten months or so now in BsAs. The bar is going well, hopefully we can get the restaurant open soon. Winter is coming. Which sucks. But overall, I'm a happy boy and it's a good place to be.

New Year's Eve

2008-01-05T20:16:00.000+01:00

Me, Balu, Matt and Sabrina

2008-01-05T17:59:00.000+01:00

Me and my Xmas Norwegian Elves

2007-12-01T20:23:00.000+01:00

Tanja, Matt, Ann-Sophie, Me, Ryan, Bill

2007-12-01T20:21:00.000+01:00

My Christ-like aura.

Frenchie's Party

2007-12-01T20:20:00.000+01:00

Us and a girl from each country in South America...

Four Heads

2007-10-23T00:36:00.000+02:00

Us and the Brazilians...

Our Other New Bartender?

2007-10-15T16:25:00.000+02:00

Me and Debs.

Debs' Birthday!

2007-10-15T15:54:00.000+02:00

Birthday Dinner at Debs'.

Our new bartender?

2007-09-25T20:34:00.000+02:00

Me, Matt and Tatianna

Us and the Brazilians

2007-09-24T05:27:00.000+02:00

Me, Camilla, Matt, Amanda

Hanging out in Buenos Aires

2007-09-24T05:24:00.000+02:00

Me, Mark and Eugenia

The New Sugar in Buenos Aires!

2007-09-03T21:10:00.000+02:00

Check out the site for our new venture, Sugar in Buenos Aires.

Grand Central

2007-08-13T19:30:00.000+02:00

I've got an invitation for Grand Central. It's the use anywhere phone number from Google. But it's only useable in the USA, so the first person to email me can have it.

Me as a Simpson

2007-07-20T18:23:00.000+02:00

Jeans and black T Shirts

2007-06-27T09:25:00.000+02:00

This wasn't on purpose! And Brian has to be the odd man out!

Me and Matt in Barcy

2007-06-27T09:22:00.000+02:00

My ass and Maroesja's face in Barcy

2007-06-26T16:26:00.000+02:00

Bangkok

2007-06-15T08:23:00.000+02:00

I met Eli for dinner. She's living with her boyfriend in Thailand. So strange to see her here and not in Barcy, and so strange to speak Spanish in Thailand!

Bangkok

2007-06-05T14:59:00.000+02:00

I'm in Bangkok. Here, you've got two choices of places to eat. The tourist places or the thai places. I almost always eat at the thai places, it's three times cheaper and the food is better. The tourist places are proper restaurants, in buildings. The thai places are just on the side of the road or down an alley, with plastic chairs outside, and if you're lucky, a table or two. Up front, they have lots of bowls of food and you just point to what you want and they dish it up for you with a big plate of rice. But the drawback is, you're never quite sure what you're getting. So today at lunch, I go to one that I've never been to before, on this back alley down from where I'm staying. There's a couple of tables and lots of construction workers there eating. I point to what I think is ground chicken and veggies and ask the girl "Gai, na?" which means "chicken?" She nods and says "spicy!" I say "mai bpen rai" which means, don't worry, it's OK, it doesn't matter, whatever. She dishes me up a big plate of it and adds some sort of eggplant stuff on the side as well. I grab a sprite and sit down at a table with all the construction workers. Construction work here is done by whole families, grandmother down to teenage kids, and there's just space for me at the table. Everyone is staring at me, which is normal, but then I look and everyone at the other table is staring as well. They seem kind of excited. I figure it's just that they don't see many giant farang here like me. So I take a spoonful of food. Wow. That's pretty spicy. The normal food here is hotter than anywhere else, but that's damn spicy even for here. All the people are peering in. I look at them and say "spicy!" They all nod and smile, but don't say anything, just keep staring at me. I take a couple more spoonfuls and then I can't take it, I have to drink some sprite. Ooohhh, a bit better. Back to the food. The eggplant stuff is pretty good, but I've got to get back to that chicken. After telling the girl spicy was ok for me, and having all these people watching me, I can't be a stupid foreigner. After about ten more minutes, I think I'm going to start hallucinating. I can't feel my lips or my tongue. I look at the food. What I thought were chopped up thai spring beans are actually these evil things called "mouse shit peppers". The hottest. But I've got to finish it. Damn, she gave me a lot. I drink some more sprite. It doesn't help this time, just seems to pour the spice down into my belly, which is burning as well now. I'm sweating. My eyes are watering. My nose is running. And there's about 15 thais staring at me to see if I will eat it all. Got to finish. I try not chewing, just swallowing, but that just makes my stomach feel like there's a rat running around in it. I drink the last of the sprite. I'm too proud to order another one. Last couple of bites of the food go down. I sit back and rub my stomach and say to all "aroi!" - delicious. They all start to laugh and the guy next to me actually claps me on the back, and they're all saying "Spicy!". I want to light a cigarette, but I think my lips are too numb to hold it. My head is spinning and snot is pouring out of nose. I stagger to my feet and pay the bill. Forty baht. Less than a euro. Fantastic!

NYC

2007-05-03T09:02:00.000+02:00

Had lunch with Govind in NYC, who I haven't seen for 6 years, if you can believe it. Hey Gov!

My Sister's site

2007-04-30T17:24:00.000+02:00

American Girl Doll Clothes My sister's site.

2007-04-30T17:12:00.000+02:00

Another view from up top. The little islands in the distance are the Mamanucas. We were on Waya, the first of the Yasawas.

2007-04-30T17:11:00.000+02:00

Our Bure on the beach.

Fiji

2007-04-30T17:10:00.001+02:00

Very nice!

2007-04-30T16:55:00.000+02:00

Got to get me one of these...

2007-04-30T16:54:00.000+02:00

The northenmost tip, Cape Reinga. It's a long way from everywhere.

2007-04-30T16:53:00.001+02:00

In the jungle, the quiet jungle...

2007-04-30T16:53:00.000+02:00

I got the world's laziest horse.

2007-04-30T16:52:00.000+02:00

Watch out behind you!!!!!!!!!!!

2007-04-30T16:51:00.000+02:00

Queenstown from up top. Those mountains on the left are called the Remarkables. Cool name.

2007-04-30T16:49:00.001+02:00

Viet Con!

2007-04-30T16:49:00.000+02:00

Streeeetttccchhhhh!

2007-04-30T16:48:00.000+02:00

Planning my angle of attack. Note the authentic Tyrolean Climbing Trousers.

2007-04-30T16:47:00.000+02:00

Survived the helicopter ride up there!

2007-04-30T16:46:00.000+02:00

Ready for the Franz Josef glacier.

2007-04-30T16:44:00.000+02:00

Frith beat my ass at Scrabble (as usual) but I got my revenge on the test of useless information. Ha!

2007-04-30T16:43:00.000+02:00

Us after the walk. Piece of cake. 6 hours, up hill, both ways.

2007-04-30T16:42:00.001+02:00

More Tongariro Crossing. Note the full head of hair.

2007-04-30T16:42:00.000+02:00

And from the right!

2007-04-30T16:41:00.000+02:00

Sideways from the left...

2007-04-30T16:40:00.001+02:00

Sarah by a big pool of snot.

2007-04-30T16:40:00.000+02:00

Geyser erupting.

2007-04-30T16:39:00.001+02:00

And so am I....

2007-04-30T16:39:00.000+02:00

The trees are sexy...

2007-04-30T16:38:00.000+02:00

Up above the clouds. That's not our balloon, by the way. They go up two by two. I think just so you can get better pictures.

2007-04-30T16:36:00.000+02:00

Ballooning was cool.

2007-04-30T16:30:00.000+02:00

What a pair!

2007-04-30T16:28:00.000+02:00

We were really lucky with the weather - it didn't even rain in Milford Sound.

2007-04-30T16:24:00.001+02:00

Lake Matheson's famous reflection.

New Zealand

2007-04-30T16:24:00.000+02:00

Then we went to New Zealand. This is on the Tongariro Crossing, an amazing hike.

2007-04-30T16:21:00.000+02:00

Sarah got eaten by a shark.

2007-04-30T16:19:00.000+02:00

We visited Siri and Lene, who's names I'm sure I've spelled wrong. They're studying to be Dive Masters. Nice work if you can get it.

2007-04-30T16:18:00.000+02:00

I ate my favorite - spicy fish in lemongrass...yummm...

Back in Thailand

2007-04-30T16:16:00.000+02:00

Me and Sarah went back to Thailand, just for a couple of weeks.

More Wandering

2007-03-02T22:19:00.000+01:00

Spent two weeks in Thailand...lovely as always....then came to New Zealand, which is even better than I remember it. Having a great time and even got up the courage to do this....45 seconds of free fall from 12,000 feet at 200 kph, then the chute opens at 4,000 feet for a soft landing. Awesome!